Georgia Football: What We Learned from the Week 1 Game vs. Buffalo

The first game of the 2012 season for the Georgia Bulldogs is in the books.

After Buffalo making it a game in the first half, the Bulldogs made adjustments and pulled away in the second half en route to a 45-23 win.

Many fans thought that the game would be more of a blowout because of the difference in talent. So there has been a lot of talk that maybe Georgia is not as good or won’t be as good as everyone has envisioned.

The reality is that it’s a long season. Even if the Bulldogs would have won 84-0 or 17-7, they have a lot of work to do moving forward.

Todd Gurley Is Something Else

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Todd Gurley made a debut fans won’t forget. The true freshman rushed for 100 yards on eight carries and also had a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown.

It has been something he’s been doing since fall camp, so players and coaches have been used to it. But for the fans that got to see him in action was something that they wanted from the running back position for awhile

Not to take anything away from Keith Marshall, because he had a solid game as well. But if Gulrley can keep this up, the offense will do some big things this year.

The Offensive Line Has Some Work to Do

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Credit has to go to the offensive line for giving Gurley, Marshall and Ken Malcome the open lanes to run through. But at the same time, they had issues protecting Aaron Murray.

In their defense, this was the first game of the year, and it is virtually a new offensive line with two new starters, including a true freshman in John Theus. But offensive line coach Will Friend will have some work to do between now and next Saturday when the Bulldogs face Missouri.

The Front 7 Has to Be Better

As much as the offensive line has struggled, the front seven of the defense did not do any better. In fact, the Bulls were able to run over them, rushing for nearly 150 yards in the first half.

It’s mind-boggling for fans because it’s basically the same front seven as last year, except for Alec Ogletree and Chasse Vasser being replaced due to suspensions. But at the same time, the defense did not know what type of offense the Bulls were going to run and did not do anything to confuse the Buffalo offense.

Regardless, the Bulls offensive line outplayed the Bulldogs defensive line and linebackers in the first half, and that is something that can’t happen moving forward.

Jarvis Jones Keeps Getting Better

When I talk about the defensive front seven not performing the way they should, I’m not referring to Jarvis Jones because he’s on another level.

The SEC sack lead in 2011 notched 1.5 sacks on Saturday along with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass defended.

The Bulls offensive line had no answer for him and was all over the field because of it.

There has been talk about Murray being a Heisman candidate because of the season he had last year. But Jones should be in that discussion because he has to be one of the five best defensive players in the country.

Aaron Murray Was Good, But...

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Speaking of Murray, he has some work to do if he wants to be a front runner in the Heisman race. He did not have a bad game because he did throw for nearly 250 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. But those numbers would have been better if it did not miss on some open receivers in the end zone.

Murray is a guy that loves to take shots down the field. But he is not as accurate as he would like to be with it. That is something he will have to work on if he want to achieve his goals for this season.

As for the rest of his game, he has everything going for him, and there is no reason he can’t post better numbers than last season.